A 2nd visit to San Francisco

I was in San Francisco, California recently for a job interview with a known tech company. Probing the rush hour commute, I decided to hop on the earliest schedules on public transport from Stockton. That's a 2 hour plus bus ride from Stockton to the Dublin/Pleasanton BART station then a light rail transit ride from Dublin/Pleasanton to BART Montgomery station in San Francisco.

This meant that I arrived very early in the morning (around 6:30) at San Francisco. By the way, my interview was scheduled at 1:30 p.m. Not wanting to waste my time, I explored the city of San Francisco a little bit. But mostly the area around the BART Montgomery station, largely a part of the South of Market neighborhood.

When I disembarked from the subway station, I walked around and was immediately introduced to the less than desirable realities of San Francisco: the abundance of mostly homeless people with mental health issues, sidewalks that reek with the smell of urine, uncollected garbage, and people that looked like zombies trying hard to make ends meet.

Uncollected garbage

On a positive note, I did see things that reminded me why I wanted to work in the city despite its infamously high cost of living which is among the highest across the country. The weather was not too warm, and not too cold either. Lots of people walking around gave me that happy-to-be-alive vibe. The population is so diverse with so many Asians specially. There is a lot of green space within the city. The architecture is amazing. And people do not seem to be in a hurry all the time unlike what we picture of in other highly urbanized cities.

While it is a popular tourist destinations, there are tourist spots that are free to go. As well as events that do not charge a penny. The diversity of the cuisines within the city is also amazing. Lots of Asian restaurants, but also lots of Italian, American, and European cuisines.

Businesses are also thriving. Well maybe because I was in the South of Market neighborhood, probably the secondary business district in all of San Francisco. Next only to the Financial District. I assume there must be lots of opportunities here.